Convertible vessel



April 8, 1969 E. F. MALIN 3,437,067

CONVERTIBLE VESS EL Filed Jan. 9, 1967 FIG. 2

s 2 as 36 I2 22 iii "i FIG. 3

4F Q1 FIG. 4

%l INVENTOR. 6O 56 I2 58 54 3,437,067 Patented Apr. 8, 1969 3,437,067CONVERTIBLE VESSEL Eugene F. Malin, 201 SE. 2nd St., Fort Lauderdale,Fla. 33301 Filed Jan. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 607,924 Int. Cl. B63b 1/12, 3/00US. Cl. 114-61 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This inventionrelates to a convertible vessel, and more particularly, to a vesselincluding at least two hulls held side-by-side and a movable part of thevessel that may be raised or lowered between the hulls to convert thevessel for various uses and for performing various functions.

As is perhaps well known, catamarans, vessels having twin hulls, andtrimarans, vessels having three hulls, have been designed to operate invarious waters, such as, rivers, lakes, bays and oceans. Catamarans andtrimarans have been powered by the wind on sails or by motors drivingpaddles or propellers. Convertible vessels have been designed to performvarious functions that cannot be performed by the 'basic vessel design.In the past multi-hull or plural hull, convertible, vessels have beendesigned, for example, an amphibious catamaran was invented by S. P.Bouchard, Sr., as shown in Patent No. 2,850,747.

The present invention relates to a new and improved convertible vesselhaving at least two spaced-apart hulls that are arranged side-by-sideand are permanently connected together by members that bridge the spacebetween the hulls above the water line. A movable part or portion of thevessel is provided for movement up and down between the hulls by movingmeans or an actuating device for converting the vessel for various usesand for performing various functions. In the preferred embodiment, thevessel is a catamaran with the bridging member forming a deck above thewater line. The movable portion is connected to the vessel between thebulls beneath the deck. The movable portion is shaped and sized toprovide a buoyant body that may be raised or lowered between the hullsto various positions below the permanent deck structure. The movableportion may include a window or port therein for viewing beneath thesurface of the water. When the convertible catamaran is readied formovement across a body of water the movable portion is raised to itsuppermost position beneath the deck. The catamaran may be converted intoa vessel having glass bottom boat characteristics by lowering themovable portion to an intermediate position.

The movable portion supports its own weight in the intermediate positionand may provide an enclosed cabin or compartment when fore and aftbulkheads are moved into position. The catamaran may be used as ahouseboat when the enclosed cabin is formed. The movable portion mayalso be forced downwardly, to a lower intermediate position to provide ashallow draft vessel which allows the vessel to transit shallow bodiesof water. When the movable portion is placed in its lowermost positionthe movable portion will support the entire weight of the vessel. Whenthe movable portion is in the lowermost position the hulls are heldabove the surface of the water. The convertible catamaran thereforeprovides its own dry dock facilities.

It is an object of this invention to provide a convertible vessel havingat least two hulls with a movable portion between the hulls, having aviewing window for viewing the ocean floor from above the movableportion when the movable portion is lowered partially below the surfaceof the water, thereby converting the vessel into a glass bottom boattype vessel.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a con vertible vesselhaving at least two hulls with a movable portion between the hulls and amovable fore and aft bulkhead for converting the vessel into a houseboattype vessel to provide an enlarged cabin for in port use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved vesselhaving at least two hulls with a movable portion for converting the deepdraft vessel having seagoing characteristics into a shallow draft vesselto provide landing craft characteristics.

A further object of this invention is to provide a convertible vesselhaving at least two hulls with a movable portion between the hulls forraising the hulls out of the water for repair, thereby providing thevessel with its own dry dock facilities.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a catamaran ortrimaran with a movable portion or portions that may be raised to acompact position beneath the deck, bridging the space between the hulls,when the vessel is readied for movement across a body of water and thatmay be lowered to provide glass bottom boat characteristics, houseboatcharacteristics, and shallow draft characteristics.

In accordance with these and other objects, which will be apparenthereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particularreference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating the preferredembodiment of the device.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the vessel with twinspaced-aparthulls;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view, in cross section, of the vessel with themovable portion in a floating intermediate position;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view, in cross section, of the vessel with themovable portion in a lower intermediate position providing a shallowdraft vessel;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view, in cross section, of the vessel with themovable portion in its lowermost position supporting the hulls above thesurface of the water.

Referring now in detail to the drawings wherein, an embodiment of theinvention is shown, and particularly to FIGURE 1, the convertiblevessel, generally designated as numeral 2, is a catamaran having twospaced-apart hulls 4 and 6 arranged side-by-side. The spaced-apart hullsare permanently connected together by a bridging structure 8. It is tobe understood that a trimaran or other multi-hull vessel may also beused as the basic vessel. The catamaran may be powered by the wind byusing sails or powered by motors driving propellers, pumps or otherknown devices in order to propel the vessel across a body of water. Theparticular shape, size and structural characteristics of the hulls andthe bridging structure may vary in accordance with known marineengineering principles. The deck 10 covers the bridging structure 8. Amovable portion or buoyant body 12 is connected to the vessel betweenthe hulls below the bridging structure 8. The movable portion 12 issized in rela tion to the dimensions of the particular vessel. When thevessel is readied for movement across a body of water the movableportion is raised to its uppermost position and held by locking devicesor clamps 14. The movable portion is held above the Water line 16 inorder to provide a trim vessel with seagoing characteristics, Themovable portion 12 may be lowered from the uppermost position as shownin FIGURE 1.

The movable portion 12 may be lowered to the position shown in FIGURE 2by moving means or an actuating device including hydraulic pistondevices (not shown) connected to the bridging structure 8 and themovable portion 12, or by four cables 18 connected between motor boxes20 in the bridging structure and the movable portion 10. The motor boxescontain winches to wind and unwind cables 18. The power source for themotor boxes may be the vessels motors or auxiliary power units. Handwinches may replace the motor boxes on smaller vessels. Therefore, thecables 18 are utilized to raise and lower the movable portion 12 betweenthe uppermost position, as shown in FIGURE 1, and the floatingintermediate position, as shown in FIGURE 2. The movable portion 12 isalso connected to tracks 22. The tracks 22 are attached to the hulls forguiding and stabilizing the movable portion as it is moved betweenvarious positions. The tracks 22 are designed to mate with trackgrasping or following means (not shown) connected to the movable portion12.

The movable portion or buoyant body 12 is generally box or barge shaped,having a how 24, a port and starboard side 26, an aft section 28 and abottom 30. The movable portion or buoyant body 12 is sized to supportnot only the weight of the movable portion and additional weight ofobjects carried in the movable portion when lowered into a floatingintermediate position, as shown in FIGURE 2, but is sized to support aportion of, or the entire weight of the vessel as shown in FIG- URES 3and 4 respectively. The shape of the bow of the movable portion 12allows the vessel to be moved forward across a body of water when themovable portion 12 is partially submerged. An extending splash member 32extends beyond the leading edge 34 of the bow to inhibit, if not preventwater from splashing into the movable portion when the vessel isunderway.

The buoyant body is lowered from a clamped position as shown in FIGURE1, by releasing clamps 14 and lowering the movable portion on aplurality of cables 18. The distal end of the cables 18 are releasablyconnected to the movable portion 12 at 36, as shown in FIGURE 2. Themovable portion may be locked in the floating intermediate position asshown in FIGURE 2 by locking means not shown. The movable portion islocked in the intermediate or lower positions to prevent the movableportion from rolling or pitching independently. The movable portion maybe used as a viewing platform to view the ocean floor from above themovable portion 12 through window 38. Therefore the vessel may beconverted to provide glass bottom boat characteristics.

When the movable portion is in the intermediate position as shown inFIGURE 2, the space between the hulls can be utilized as a cabin,providing the vessel with houseboat characteristics. The deck of thecabin is the movable portion or buoyant body 12, the overhead is thebridging structure 8, and the port and starboard bulkheads areconfronting hull surfaces. The fore and aft bulkheads 40 and 42respectively, are connected to the bridging structure 8 and are storedbeneath the bridging structure. Bulkhead 40 is shown in a storedposition and bulkhead 42 is shown in a vertical position. The bulkheadsare rotated about hinges 44 and 46 to a vertical position from ahorizontal stored position. The forward bulkhead 40 may also be rotatedinto a vertical position about hinges 44. The bulkheads may be jalousietype windows with sliding doors to provide an entrance way into thecabin or compartment. A ladder 48 provides a passageway between the deck10 and the cabin. A protruding portion 50 is connected to the movableportion 12 to provide an outside deck area at the cabin level.

In larger vessels, the hulls 4 and 6 may contain compartments. Accessbetween the compartments in hulls and the cabin formed between the hullsis provided by water tight door 52 outlined in FIGURE 3. The door 52 issealed when the movable portion is in its uppermost posi tion and thevessel is moving across a body of water.

When the movable portion is moved from the floating intermediateposition, shown in FIGURE 2, to a lower intermediate position, as shownin FIGURE 3, the movable portion 12 will support a portion of the weightof the main body of the catamaran, that is, a portion of the weight ofthe hulls 4 and 6 and bridging structure 8. The vessel has thereforebeen converted from a relatively deep draft vessel to a shallow draftvessel. The configuration of the vessel in FIGURE 3 is generally shapedsimilar to that of a fiat bottom vessel. Therefore, it can be readilyseen that this convertible vessel may be used to transport both men andmaterials across a body of water as a deep draft vessel and to depositboth men and materials on the shore after converting the vessel into ashallow draft vessel for transitting the shallows adjacent the shoreline.

The movable portion may be moved to its lowermost position, as shown inFIGURE 4, to support the hulls 4 and 6 above the surface of the water.In this position the movable portion is utilized as a dry dock when onewishes to repair the hulls.

The movable portion 12 is moved to and from the lower intermediateposition and the lowermost position, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 bymoving means or an actuating device including a plurality of jacks 54,two of which are shown in FIGURE 5. The jacks 54 are rotatably connectedat 56 to the movable portion 12'for movement from .a horizontal positionto a generally vertical position as illustrated. The piston extensions58 are connected to adjacent hull depressions 60 in order to raise andlower the movable portion 12. A hand driven or motor driven pump (notshown) is connected to the hydraulic jacks to synchronize the upward ordownward movement of the movable portion 12. It should be noted that apiston type hydraulic system may be utilized to move the movable portionbetween the uppermost position, as shown in FIGURE 1, and the lowermostposition, as shown in FIGURE 4.

in use, the convertible vessel is readied for transit across a body ofwater by placing the movable portion in its uppermost position, therebyproviding a trim, seaworthy, relatively deep draft vessel. When thevessel is utilized as a sight-seeing or oceanographic vessel the movableportion includes fragile windows or glass ports that may be loweredbeneath the surface of the water after the craft transports itspassengers to a particular location at a high rate of speed with thefragile windows held out of the water. The passengers may view objectsin the water beneath the windows or the ocean floor from a positionabove the windows. At will the movable portion may be unlocked andlowered to a floating intermediate position. The movable portion may belocked in the intermediate position in order to prevent relativemovement between the vessel and the movable portion. The movablebulkheads are lowered to provide a relatively large enclosed cabin orcompartment between adjacent hulls. The movable portion may be moved toa lower intermediate position or to the lowermost position by actuatingthe hydraulic jacks. The lower intermediate position provides arelatively shallow draft vessel having flat bottom boat characteristics.In the lowermost position the hulls are raised out of the water,providing dry app aratus and articles.

The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what isconsidered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It isrecognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within thescope of the invention. Such departures are not to be limited to thedetails disclosed herein but to be accorded the full scope of the claimsso as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

What is claimed is:

1. A convertible vessel of the type having at least two hulls fixed inspaced-apart, side-by-side relation with bridging structure connectingthe hulls comprising,

a movable portion of said vessel connected between adjacent hulls formovement between an uppermost position above the waterline of the hullsproviding a plural hull vessel and a lower position with the movableportion lying partially below the liquid waterline of the bullslessening the draft of the vessel, and

actuating means for moving said movable portion between the uppermostposition and the lower position to convert the vessel from a plural hullconfiguration having a relatively deep draft to a contiguous hullconfiguration having a relatively shallow draft.

2. A vessel for transportation across a liquid as set forth in claim 4,wherein,

said mean-s for moving said movable member to a partially submergedposition between the spacedapart hulls to provide a relatively largecompartment having said movable member as a deck, the confronting hullsurfaces of the spaced-apart hulls as bulkheads, and the bridging meansas the overhead.

3. A vessel for transportation across a liquid body as set forth inclaim 2, wherein,

said vessel includes movable fore and aft bulkheads for movement betweena stored position in the collapsed compartment and a bulkhead positionbetween the bridging means and the movable member.

4. A vessel for transportation across a liquid body comprising;

at least two hulls in spaced-apart relation to one another,

bridging means connecting said hulls above the liquid body,

at least one movable member connected to the vessel between at least twohulls for movement below said bridging means, and

actuating means for moving said movable member between an uppercollapsed compartment position with said movable member adjacent saidbridging means and a lower position providing an enlarged compartmentbetween said bridging means and said movable member.

5. A vessel for transportation across a liquid body as set forth inclaim 4, wherein,

said movable member including a buoyant structure,

and said means for moving said movable member converting said vesselfrom a relatively deep draft vessel with the movable member above theliquid body to a relatively shallow draft vessel with the buoyantmovable member in the liquid.

6. A convertible vessel of the type having at least two hulls fixed inspaced-apart, side-by-side relation with bridging structure connectingthe hulls as set forth in claim 1, wherein said movable portionconnected to said vessel for movement to a position at least partiallybelow said hulls,

whereby said movable portion may be utilized as a dry dock for thehulls.

7. A convertible vessel for transportation across a liquid bodycomprising,

two hulls for supporting a portion of said vessel above the surface ofthe liquid body,

at least one bridging member for fixedly connecting the hulls togetherin spaced-apart, side-by-side relation, said bridging member connectingthe hulls above the liquid line of the hulls, and

a movable portion of said vessel lying between and connecting saidhulls, said movable portion includ ing an actuating device connected tosaid vessel and said movable portion for moving said movable portionbetween a first position above the surface of the liquid and a lowersecond position with said movable portion lying partially submerged inthe liquid,

whereby said convertible vessel may be converted between a plural hullvessel with said movable portion in the first position and a vesselhaving the hulls with said movable portion in the second position.

8. A convertible vessel for transportation across a liquid body as setforth in claim 7, wherein said movable portion including a transparentwindow in the bottom of said movable portion for viewing beneath thesurface of the liquid from a position above said movable portion.

9. A convertible vessel for transportation across a body of water as setforth in claim 7, wherein said movable portion having buoyantcharacteristics,

said device arranged to move said movable portion between said firstposition and a second position providing an enlarged compartment betweensaid bridging member and said movable portion.

10. A convertible vessel for transportation across a liquid body as setforth in claim 9, wherein said vessel is a catamaran,

said movable portion lying beneath said bridging memher in the firstposition, and

fore and aft bulkheads movably connected to said vessel for movement toenclose the compartment between the hulls when said movable portion isin the second position.

11. A convertible vessel for transportation across a body of water asset forth in claim 7, wherein said device is arranged to move saidmovable portion between said second position and a position supportingat least a portion of the weight of said hulls for converting the vesselinto a relatively shallow draft vessel.

12. A convertible vessel for transportation across a body of water asset forth in claim 9, wherein said device is arranged to move saidmovable portion between said second position and a position supportingat least a portion-- of the weight of said hulls for converting thevessel into a relatively shallow draft vessel.

'13. A convertible vessel of the type having at least two hulls fixed inspaced-apart, side-by-side relation with bridging structure connectingthe hulls as set forth in claim 1, wherein said movable portionconnected to the vessel for movement below said bridging structurebetween said uppermost position, with said movable portion adjacent saidbridging structure, which provides a collapsed compartment, to saidlower position which provides an enlarged compartment between saidbridging structure and said movable portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS =1,683,276 9/1928 Woods 1l4611,786,091 12/1930 Stiles 114,-.(56 ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Exqm f er.

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